Two questions about robo hamster feeding

Crystalroborovski · 03-17-2017, 02:17 PM

Hi there! I am getting a pair of robos in a couple of months and I have two questions about feeding.
1. How much do I feed? i plan to give them fresh fruits or veggies daily but I wanted to know how much other food (seed mix and all that) I should give them. Since I will be getting a pair of hammies do you suggest that I get two food bowls? I plan to get two wheels, hideouts and water bottles just wanted to check on the food bowl.

2. Healthiest treats? I know a lot of pet shops sell yogurt drops but most have a lot of sugar in them. What other treats do you suggest? (Note: I live in the United States so I probably won't order any European hamster food/treats online.)

Don't worry, I have done my research on getting pairs of hamsters so I know what I'm getting into, what the risks are etc. And the cage I'm getting is quite large so I could just put in a divider if needed. Thanks!

chesca_27 · 03-17-2017, 04:09 PM

I would probably scatter feed about 3-4 teaspoons of seed mix each day or every couple of days. A thumbnail sized piece of veg each will be plenty. Fruit can be given as a treat. You will be better off scatter feeding the food because that will completely stop any territorial behaviour over food.

I've found with my dwarf that he prefers sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseed and oats over anything else. Most of my shop bought treats have been ignored over seeds. They do quite like small dog Whimzee toothbrush chews or Greenies chews as well and these are excellent for their teeth.

There are cases where pairs of dwarf hamsters live more peacefully in smaller cages because there is less space to fight over. I can't remember off the top of my head how big though.

Drago · 03-17-2017, 05:19 PM

Each hamster as a general rule will eat about 1-2 tablespoons of food per day, and thus you should spread anywhere from 2-4 tablespoons throughout the cage. Do not use bowls with pairs as often, all it does is cause more aggression unfortunately. Two of everything is important, but if you can get even more that would be great! Make sure all hides you get have two exits so that your hamsters cannot corner one another in a hut. The more often you can scatter, the better it will be! I.e. Split the feedings into half tablespoon amounts throughout the day so the hamsters are always well fed and have several opportunities to eat if one eats more than the other. As for treats, yogurt drops are okay as a very rare treat, perhaps once every two weeks or so they can get one. Homemade yogurt drops would be best as they're made with fresh fruits and yogurts, and contain no dyes or harmful preservatives

Another treat I always recommend are the Oxbow "simple rewards" biscuits. They make many varieties, with apple banana being a favorite, and they're all natural and healthy! Dog biscuits like whimzees, antos, or biscrock all make excellent choices for treats and help to keep teeth trim to a healthy length.

Good luck with your pair, and if you have any more questions please ask!

**Cinnamon Bear** · 03-17-2017, 05:36 PM

I just seperated a pair of Chinese sisters even tho there no fights. I just noticed that one of them was making the other fearful.

Anyways, I have robos now & I feed them lab blocks (Mazuri), & Higgins Sunburst. I feed the youngest Burgess food ordered from the UK. Probably not necessary to feed Burgess for a robo. I bought it for my Chinese & hybrid hammy who are diabetes prone.

You don't have to worry about diabetes but you don't want to load them up on sugar either. I feed mine sunflower & all kinds of seeds. The white striped bird seed sunflower seeds in the shells work best. Can order bulk on Amazon, it's the bird seeds.

They like papaya treats alot!!! You can try dried meal worms as well. I wouldn't feed veggies every day. There tummies are little. I'd feed veggies every few days. I agree with above posts about scatter feeding.

It's tricky to know when to feed more without bowls. I noticed that I went through more food for the Chinese when I scatter fed them. If you go with bowls make sure one isn't eating out of both bowls.

Introducing 2 robos in a large space could be a problem but if you've done your research then I wish you the best

let us know how things are coming along with lots of photos!

AmityvilleHams · 03-17-2017, 07:34 PM

I'd still feed Burgess to any dwarf hamster.The small seeds are better for tiny mouths,rather than the generally large pieces of Hazel/Harry Hamster or Higgins Sunburst.It is very worth the investment to order it occasionally rather than buying something which will have much more potential waste or be too hard to eat,and it is an excellent food which needs no mixing so there is less concern over balancing the amount to make it perfect!

Freeze dried fruit can work well as a treat for species which aren't prone to diabetes,but do be aware it is higher in natural sugar than fresh fruit.It is still much better than the sugary pet store treats though,as long as you get good freeze dried fruit and not anything that is either alternatively dried(such as sulfur which is unsafe).Freeze dried chicken and other hamster-safe protein sources are great as well,along with dried mealworms or crickets or freshwater shrimp.You do want regular animal protein additions if your main diet doesn't include it(Burgess dwarf food does).

For more treats,you could potentially use certain wet cat or dog foods.Just make sure the ingredients are safe,for example Pure Bites make tiny wet tins of just chicken breast and water which would be fine.As long as the ingredients are safe and it comes from a reputable company(double check with searches,otherwise foods may sound safe based on ingredients alone but could be unsafe with research and companies which have otherwise safe ingredients may actually have a sketchy history).

I also use Whimzees dog chews.I would never recommend Greenies though,there are just too many cases of them causing serious problems in some animals.The ingredients of Whimzees are also far more digestible unlike Greenies which include indigestible gelatin(boiled bones,aka cooked,which are pretty much indigestible unlike raw bones at least where animals which are meant to eat animals are concerned).

Do not use any sort of Pedigree or Purina biscuit.They're extremely sketchy as a company and use unsafe ingredients.You're much better off sticking to natural biscuits,for example in the US Wet Noses(certain flavors are hamster-safe and come in trial packs,easy enough to break up into small portions too).I know there are loads of brands to choose from though,so have a look around but make sure you only use the natural and reputable brands rather than using the brands which are well known for terrible things!

Forgot to mention this but the best place to get high quality biscuits in the US(among loads of other amazing foods and treats mostly for dogs and cats)would be Chewy.It is a website,but the pricing is far better than Petco or Petsmart and they have a big variety of things(yes they do carry the junk that shouldn't be fed,but they also have a massive amount of wonderful brands).I would definitely recommend ordering things from there rather than buying in store where possible,as long as you do the minimum to get free shipping

cypher · 03-17-2017, 10:32 PM

Drago those amounts are about right for a syrian but a dwarf ham will eat 1-2 teaspoons a day depending on the mix.
I would definitely scatter feed rather than use bowls with a pair, you do need to be generous when feeding a pair as sometimes one will take more than it's fair share & the other won't get enough.
So I would begin with a good scattering on day one, maybe two or three tablespoons then monitor how much gets eaten or stashed, top up as needed just bearing in mind that roughly a 1-2 teaspoons should be getting eaten by each every day.

I agree with Chesca about natural seeds being the best treat, they often enjoy having a millet spray (or two) in the cage & mealworms are usually a favourite & a good protein boost too.

Most hams enjoy a whimzee to chew on, just remember to double up on everything!

Crystalroborovski · 03-18-2017, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drago

Each hamster as a general rule will eat about 1-2 tablespoons of food per day, and thus you should spread anywhere from 2-4 tablespoons throughout the cage. Do not use bowls with pairs as often, all it does is cause more aggression unfortunately. Two of everything is important, but if you can get even more that would be great! Make sure all hides you get have two exits so that your hamsters cannot corner one another in a hut. The more often you can scatter, the better it will be! I.e. Split the feedings into half tablespoon amounts throughout the day so the hamsters are always well fed and have several opportunities to eat if one eats more than the other. As for treats, yogurt drops are okay as a very rare treat, perhaps once every two weeks or so they can get one. Homemade yogurt drops would be best as they're made with fresh fruits and yogurts, and contain no dyes or harmful preservatives

Another treat I always recommend are the Oxbow "simple rewards" biscuits. They make many varieties, with apple banana being a favorite, and they're all natural and healthy! Dog biscuits like whimzees, antos, or biscrock all make excellent choices for treats and help to keep teeth trim to a healthy length.

Good luck with your pair, and if you have any more questions please ask!

Thank you drago! It's nice to have someone speak in a friendly tone about me getting a pair lol. I do have another question- what should I do if one hamster is pigging out on the food and the other is going hungry? Should I continue to scatter feed or what?
And thanks for the tip on multiple-exit hideouts, a new thing to add to my hamster knowledge library- and something to improve my pet care for my future fur-babies :P

Crystalroborovski · 03-18-2017, 08:15 PM

Sorry, wifi was being slow and accidentally posted same reply twice :P

chesca_27 · 03-19-2017, 04:10 AM

Scatter feeding should stop one hamster stealing all the food, but just be generous with the food. It stops them becoming territorial over the food, so that is the point of scatter feeding - so they can get even amounts of food. As long as they eat all the ingredients in the mix, they are unlikely to become overweight from it. Bowl feeding won't really change much except be in the one who eats more's favour.

flowerfairy · 03-19-2017, 04:13 AM

I have to roborovskis, sisters from a breeder. They fell out after a couple of weeks but I did have a large cage (100 x 50cm) which I have since learned can cause fall outs. They are now happily singe. They live next to each other.

I feed them a mixture of burgess dwarf hamster food and harry hamster. I feed the same to my three syrians. Every now and again I go to the rodipet website and order some lovey foods from them.

I agree with Chesca (as usual) that scatter feeding is the way to go. It is more natural for them. I often hide food in cardboard tubes and in twists of paper.